In a recent conversation with Classic Rock, Bruce Dickinson shared why he leaves the stage during Iron Maiden shows during ‘Death of the Celts’ on the band’s ‘The Future Past World Tour.’
“There’s one song and that’s ‘Death of the Celts’ – it’s a long song, ten minutes, with a lengthy instrumental part that’s five minutes and twenty seconds,” the singer explained.
He continued, “I know that because that’s how long I’ve got to have a cup of tea in the middle.”
In 2021, Dickinson joked on Sirius XM that he wanted ‘The Parchment’ to be part of Iron Maiden’s setlist so he could have a cup of tea. Bruce said, “It’s almost like self-hypnosis listening to that – it really is. I’ll be round the back having a glass of non-alcoholic water. I get a five-and-a-half-minute tea break in the middle of ‘The Parchment!'”
Iron Maiden’s 81-date tour in 2023 and 2024 ended last week in Sao Paulo with Nicko McBrain’s last Iron Maiden concert. The tour included songs from their 2021 album ‘Senjutsu,’ rare songs from ‘Somewhere in Time,’ and classic tracks.
“Tonight is a very special night, as some of you, I think probably all of you, will know, because this morning we announced, Nicko announced that he was stepping back for playing live drums with Iron Maiden,” Dickinson said on stage about Nicko’s decision.
The frontman added, “For 42 years Nicko’s been in this band. He was a drummer before I was a singer, he was a pilot before I was a pilot, and now he’s not leaving the band, but he’s just not playing live with us anymore.”
“So, we have a lot more music to get to tonight, and I want the rest of the night to be a celebration of Nick, a celebration of the joy that he’s brought to everybody around the world, not just here in Brazil. All right? And with that, on we go!” Dickinson shared.
Iron Maiden will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2025 with the ‘Run For Your Lives World Tour.’ The tour starts with two shows in Budapest in late May. It includes sold-out shows in Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow, plus a concert at London Stadium on June 28. Simon Dawson will replace McBrain on drums.
